Three Sisters' Success Story
The Measure of Success
I have pondered the definition of success for years, especially the last few years with my son running with Ohio Lightning. When it comes to success on the track, is it really your personal best, or is it the medal at the end of the race? Is it the enjoyment of running or for the love of victory? When do you call it a success? I guess that is a personal thing, so I'll leave that alone and not try to define it for everyone. But I can define it for myself. It is hard work, patience, and the diligence to keep on trying. Results may vary - you may get a medal, you may not.
There is one particular family in our club that made me excited this year; to say to myself - this is what its all about. Some kids are so used to winning, they take it for granted. Some take going to the Nationals as a gimme. In 2009, three sisters - Sydnie, Ciara, and Chanel - didn't qualify for the National meet. I didn't know them very well then, but I'm sure that the disappointment was big. I recall watching Sydnie discussing strategies to win with Coach Dwayne during one of the practices, taking in all his pointers and looking very intrigued. That weekend I watched her run the National Qualifier and get 5th place. Sydnie had a pretty good time, but just not good enough.
This year all three came back. Sunday night I checked the results myself to see how this family did and much to my amazement and delight, all three made the National cut! All of their hard work paid off. Sydnie qualified in two events (high jump and relay), and Chanel and Ciara each qualified in the 1500 and Long Jump, respectively. Not one of these girls competed in events with less than five contestants, meaning they HAD to beat someone to advance.
All three are definitely amazing, but I had to take note of Chanel, who had only ran the 1500M run two times before. She started out with a 7:02 and in two races, worked her time down to 6:20, beating kids who had beat her before. In fact, she would have placed in the top 3 of every meet of the season with a 6:20! She had found HER event. Sydnie walked away with two medals from the National Meet after some serious competition in all her events. Ciara had a personal best in her Long Jump, which qualified her for the Nationals. Ciara had competed in this heavily contested event all year and claimed her victory at most crucial time.
These girls are an inspiration and define what track is all about. Yes, it is wonderful to win medals at every meet. It is a glorious feeling not to have to try very hard and produce results. But these three showed that hard work and determination can trump everything else when it is the end of the season and time to show your hand. They represent what so many of our Lightning Bolts are all about.
So for those of you who didn't qualify this year, do not get discouraged. Ask yourself if it was really your goal. Examine your successes. Jump back into track next year and keep on trying. Ask your coach to help you pick a different event if you don't like what you're in. Explore all the possibilities and keep trying. Sydnie, Ciara and Chanel proved it: hard work, persistence, and diligence do pay off.
I'll leave you now with this quote from Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time:
I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. - Michael Jordan |
